The National Park Service (NPS) has determined that Camp FIMFO, a $40-plus million renovation to the Kittatinny campground, has elements that fundamentally conflict with the guidelines that manage the river corridor, according to the River Reporter.
It’s the starkest challenge yet to the project, and it’s a decision without precedent in the Upper Delaware River (UDR).
Northgate Resorts, a national operator of campgrounds and resorts, plans to turn Kittatinny Canoes in Barryville into Camp FIMFO, the third in a chain of FIMFO family resorts. The plan would replace 146 tents with permanently installed RVs and build out amenities, including a water play area with a swimming pool.
The project has to meet the requirements of the River Management Plan (RMP), a document drafted in collaboration between local and federal governments to protect the Upper Delaware. The Upper Delaware Council (UDC), a collaboration between the towns and townships along the UDR, reviews the project first and makes a recommendation to the NPS; the NPS then makes its own determination.
The UDC approved the project in a 6-4 vote, with one abstention, on September 1, 2022. It recommended to the NPS that the project did substantially conform with the RMP.
The NPS announced its own determination in a letter sent to the UDC on May 25.
The UDC expressed concern at the suggestion and passed a resolution to discuss the matter with the National Park Service at a special meeting of the council’s project advisory committee. That meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13.
